After 9 years of forward thinking nights in Utrecht, Holland - Black Empire Sun will be bringing their highly-revered Blackout event to Cable for the first time on 21st January. Having been making D&B since 2000, Rene Verdult and brothers Milan and Micha Heyboer have represented the deep and techy side of D&B and used the Blackout night as a platform for this evolving sound. Not only do they host their own nights but they are responsible for running two record labels (Black Sun Empire Recordings and Obsessions) so we were pleased to get some time with the trio to talk about their upcoming releases, why they chose Cable for the first Blackout in London and their wish to collaborate with Florence and The Machine. They’ve also gone to the trouble of recording mix for the event which you can stream below featuring plenty of Black Sun Empire material to tide you over till the 21st!

You have been described as some of the hardest working artists in the business. Apart from your heavy touring schedule what have you been up since your last release?
We just did a remix of Noisia’s track ‘Thursday’ which will be coming out on their re-release of ‘Split the Atom’ on Mau5trap, the home of Deadmau5. Besides that we made a lot of new music, moved studio and made plans for the future.

Do you have any plans to release a follow up to your critically acclaimed album lights and wires in 2012?
At the moment we’re working very hard on our 5th album. I can’t really say too much about it yet, but there will be a lot of collaborations on there. Some of the artists included are Noisia, Audio, Foreign Beggars, Rido, State of Mind and more. Just keep checking www.blacksunempire.com or www.facebook.com/blacksunempire for the latest information.

Through your labels you are able to help and nurture other artists at the beginning of their careers - which artists should we be looking out for in the near future?
Although he has been in the game for a while, this is the year Rido will get the recognition for the work he has done. Besides that Telekinesis and Neonlight will drop some bombs.

Your night has been going for 9 years what is the secret to your longevity?
I think it has something to do with the diversity of the line-ups and music. We dare to give new upcoming DJs a chance and put contradictive names (like Counterstrike, Marcus Intalex and Nero) on the same bill.

Which artists, both from D&B and outside of the scene would, you like to collaborate with?
Florence and The Machine or Ben Howard. They just have great voices and it would be interesting to try and make the two styles blend. It would be cool to sit in the studio with Spor, just because we always talked about it but never did haha. So Jon come on!

What records haven’t left your set over the last few months and why?
Muffler - Cybertron (Audio VIP): it’s insane! Just like the creator!

The Upbeats - Undertaker: just makes you want to bounce!

Noisia - Tryhard: omg

What made you decide to do your first London party at Cable and what can we expect?
London is the city we all looked at in the early days of jungle. The city that was host to a lot of legendary parties and it’s the city that still is. For us it has always been a dream to have our own night there. And now we are here. Normally Blackout has always been a mix between all the subgenres D&B has to offer. In London however (for the first show) we will focus a bit more on the sound we produce, as we think it might be a bit underrepresented in the UK scene.